The decision has been made to approve the proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment for the Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area and to select Alternative A (Preferred) as presented in the Final Environmental Assessment (EA). An EA was prepared for the plan in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969.

As part of the NEPA process, the Roswell Field Office considered the context and intensity of implementing the Selected Alternative (Alternative A – Preferred), and issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The FONSI concluded that the implementation of the Selected Alternative would not have significant environmental effects, and that the Selected Alternative did not constitute a major federal action having a significant effect on the human environment. As a result, an Environmental Impact Statement was not necessary and was not prepared.

The Proposed RMP Amendment was circulated for a 30-day protest period in accordance with 43 CFR 1610.5-2. The protest period began August 23, 2013 and ended September 22, 2013. No protest letters were received.

The Decision Record, FONSI, and Final (Approved) EA are available for review in the box to the right.